A Thousand Words
by Crittab
Summary: Jeff enlists Annie to be his muse for a project in his photography class. He's inspired by one particular photo to finally tell her how he feels.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **A Thousand Words (1/3)

**Rating: **PG-13

**Warnings/Spoilers: **None

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Community, yo.

**Summary: **Jeff enlists Annie to be his muse for a project in his photography class. He's inspired by one particular photo to finally tell her how he feels.

**A/N: **Based on a prompt by leap_of_faith81 that marries two of my favourite things in the world: writing and photography.

* * *

**A Thousand Words**

"As you can see from the outline, there are a few specific requirements for your third and final portfolio," said Professor Lewis. Jeff sat back in his seat looking over the sheet of paper in his hand. His photography course had been surprisingly interesting and fun—something he never thought he'd get to say about a Greendale class. Professor Lewis was actually qualified to teach the subject, and she had such a passion for the art that it was kind of contagious. Jeff had never had the photography bug until he took this course, but seeing her excitement about it, and getting to do unique assignments with a good camera completely turned him on to the prospect of making photography an actual hobby for him rather than something he occasionally did at parties to embarrass his friends.

"The first requirement for this portfolio is that you use natural light. Now, this doesn't mean you have to go outside on a sunny day and snap around—of course, you can, but natural light can be used in a myriad of ways, and as always, you're going to be graded on your creativity and vision in addition to the basic elements of the photograph," Professor Lewis explained. "Remember the tone you're looking for in your pictures. Remember shadows. Remember the beautiful effects a cloudy day can have on a photo. You don't even have to be outside. Consider trying a few shots in a naturally-lit room. You are in no way limited by the opportunity to use natural light—if anything it will make your photos all the more spectacular.

"The second requirement is to have a theme. I don't want to see portfolios where one photo has nothing to do with the next. Try to tell a story with your images. Make sure that your point of view is reflected. This may seem like vague advice to some of you, but I guarantee that once you're out there you'll know what I mean. It's exhilarating to conceive an idea for a photo-journey and then actually take it.

"The final requirement is that you use a human subject."

Jeff looked up from his paper at this. Crap. He'd gotten really comfortable taking pictures of birds and insects. He didn't even know where to look for a _model_.

Well... he did. He just didn't want to.

"I know shooting people can be tricky, but it really is one of the major cornerstones of this industry. It's the pictures of people that make the largest impact of the viewer, because so much can be reflected. And please keep in mind, when I say a human subject, I'm not talking about finding the prettiest person you can and taking bright, smiley pictures of them. I'm talking about finding someone who inspires you. Someone who is interesting, either physically or emotionally, and who is expressive. Some of the most inspirational images are not of models, but of the elderly, or children. Seek out a person who has a story, and then let them tell their story through your lens.

"As always, your portfolio should look professional. Retouch if you must, but please not too much. Remember that the beauty of a person is not told through the clarity of their skin, but through the clarity of their eyes." At this point, Professor Lewis finally took a breath, and set down her own copy of the outline. "Any questions?"

* * *

As Jeff exited his class, camera in hand, he went through his mental black book of people he could ask to model for him. Of course, he'd dated more than a few professional models in his time, but he had little interest in reconnecting with them. Besides, Professor Lewis had seemed pretty opposed to taking that easy route – and for once, Jeff himself wasn't interested in the easy route. He wasn't sure what it was about this class, but he suddenly had a yearning to actually do an assignment the right way.

He thought about what she said about elderly people and children. His entire collection of elderly people consisted of Pierce and his mom (who would swat him upside the head for calling her elderly). He didn't particularly want to subject her to a photoshoot with him (he had a tendency to get a little heady when he was taking pictures... seriously, this class had done something to him). He definitely did _not_ want to spend a full day alone with Pierce. He shuddered at the thought.

As for children, the only children he knew were Shirley's boys, and while he liked them in small doses, the idea of willingly looking after them for an afternoon made him want to crawl in a hole and die.

He thought about the rest of his friends. Abed would be an interesting subject, since he had such a unique, angular face and bird-like movements. But Abed was a statue, and his eyes offered nothing to inspire a viewer. Abed's neuroses were buried too deep within him for a camera to pick up, so Jeff moved on. He skipped right over Troy, because really, what's the point? He skipped over Shirley too, because she wouldn't even let him take pictures of her under normal circumstances. Britta was a possibility, but he had a feeling that by asking he would be inviting her to share her lengthy opinions on the representation of women in magazines and media, and that was just the last thing he wanted to listen to.

Of course, through all of this brainstorming, he'd purposely skipped over the most logical choice. Annie, while beautiful, was so much more than that, and he had a feeling that Professor Lewis could be properly moved by an image of his young friend if it was taken just right. Not to mention, Annie's eyes could drop the Spartan army if she wanted to – goodness knows she'd used them as a weapon against Jeff on more than one occasion.

But aside from Annie's physical attributes, she had something else that was special. She had a story, a history. In her short 22 years, she'd been through more than most people go through in 50 years. Jeff had only recently started allowing himself to think of her in that way—as a fully functioning adult with a history and a long, difficult life before him. But it was tough. Was he ready to admit to her that he was utterly fascinated by her? That he _wanted_ to take the picture of her that showed in raw clarity just how much she'd faced?

Jeff eventually had to accept the one simple fact about this assignment: he had to ask Annie to be his model. Professor Lewis wanted them to use subjects who they felt inspired by, and no one in the world inspired him like Annie did. There was simply no other option.

With a resigned sigh, he headed for the study room to meet with the group, and to try and figure out how to ask Annie to be his muse.

* * *

Study group, as usual, was less about studying and more about the _group_ for the hour that followed Jeff's photography class. To his credit, he didn't spend the entire 60 minutes trying to figure out how to get Annie to agree to be his muse, although the 45 minutes he did spend on it made it difficult for him to focus.

All too soon, though, the group was packing up to leave for the day. Jeff had barely noticed the time had gone by before Annie was up and away with her bag, making a swift exit. Kicking his brain into action, he pulled himself quickly from his seat and chased after her, catching up about halfway down the hall.

"Annie," he called. She spotted him over her shoulder and slowed so he could catch up. "I was wondering if you'd be able to help me out with something for one of my classes." Annie's eyes lit up to cartoon proportions and she smiled.

"Jeff! Are you actually putting _effort_ into a school project?" she teased. Jeff chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I think I saw some flying pigs on my way in this morning too." Annie giggled and gave him a little nudge with her elbow.

"Well, better late than never. What do you need?" Jeff bit the inside of his lip, trying to figure out how to phrase this particular request. It wasn't exactly a diorama he was looking for assistance with.

"It's actually for my photography class," he began, a little awkwardly. Annie smiled and nodded for him to continue. "We-need-a-human-subject-for-our-next-assignment-and-I-was-wondering-if-you-were-interested." He speed-talked the request in a single breath, but gave himself a mental pat on the back for getting it out without sounding creepy. Annie seemed to waffle with this.

"Wouldn't you rather work with someone who has experience with that sort of thing?" she asked. Jeff shook his head adamantly.

"No, we're not supposed to use professional models." She bit her lip.

"Well, don't you think you could find someone a little more...photogenic?" she attempted.

"Like who?" he asked, a certain level of disbelief evident in his tone.

"I don't know... Britta?" Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Annie, you're plenty photogenic—trust me." She continued to nibble her lip. "Look, if you don't want to..."

"No, it's not that. It's just..." She thought about this for a moment before finally meeting his gaze, "...why me?"

Jeff hesitated a moment with this. He knew why, but it was hard to put into words—especially given the way their relationship had progressed over the past few years. He knew at this point that there was a very fine line between 'just friends' and 'something more' between him and Annie, and fully explaining why he wanted her to be his muse tended to fall on the latter side of that line.

Nonetheless, Annie stood before him expecting an explanation, and he knew he had little choice but to give her one.

"Okay," he said determinedly. He took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, as if the stable force would make it easier. "Annie, you know you're one of my best friends, right?" she nodded, mimicking his stance by also leaning against the wall. "Good. Because you are, and I have a lot of respect for you, you know?" Again, she nodded. "Anyway, this assignment is all about finding someone who... inspires you, and telling their story with pictures. And when I think about you, and all you've been through... it's impossible for me not to feel that way...inspired, I mean." Jeff bit down on the inside of his cheek as he let that sink in. He forgot to breathe until a small smile graced Annie's features.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll do it." Jeff let out a long breath.

"You will?" She smiled a little wider and nodded, reaching out and placing a hand on his arm.

"Jeff, in four years, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. And I know you don't like mushy stuff, so I just want you to know that it means a lot to me." Jeff smiled lightly.

"Well, I meant it," he said quietly. She smiled and reached up on her tippy-toes, placing a small kiss to his cheek.

"I know you did."

* * *

Jeff spent the rest of the week coming up with a plan of action for his Annie photoshoot. He had a lot of ideas, but for some reason they all seemed either too frou-frou or too depressing to really tell her story in a way that was realistic and fair to her. He'd scouted a few locations, counting on the weather to be sunny and hot, as advertised.

Finally, when Saturday arrived, he'd come to the realization that whatever would happen would happen. He trusted Annie to take this seriously, since it was for a grade, and he'd always appreciated capturing genuine moments over posed portraits anyway.

When he pulled up to the Trobed building, Annie was waiting outside for him wearing a knee-length floral sundress, red flats and carrying a broad-rimmed hat. She looked perfectly adorable, exactly as he had asked her to when they were planning out the day's events. She gave him a wide smile as she climbed into the car.

"Hey!" she greeted brightly. Jeff smiled back.

"How's it going?" She buzzed a little as she did up her seat belt.

"Good! A little excited, a little nervous," she offered. Jeff offered a small grin and pulled out of the parking lot.

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Annie. It's just me," he said. She fixed him with a glare.

"Yeah, because you're not intimidating at all." He raised an eyebrow, but she just waved him away. "Besides, it's not you, it's _that," _she said, gesturing to the camera bag in the backseat.

"It'll be fine," he assured her. Jeff peered at her out of the corner of his eye, noting the way she seemed to nibble uncomfortably on her lip. He reached over and placed his hand on her knee. "Annie, you're gonna do fine." She offered a small smile, allowing her hand to land on top of his as they drove out of town.

* * *

They'd been driving for about 25 minutes when Jeff pulled off the road. Annie looked around, realizing that there was absolutely nothing around them of note. The stretch of road they'd been on was completely surrounded by trees.

"Umm, is this the part where you kill me?" Annie asked nervously. Jeff chuckled.

"There's a great spot about a quarter of a mile into the woods." She frowned.

"I'm not really dressed for a hike," she said, gesturing to her dress.

"Don't worry, there's a trail... you'll be fine," he said, grabbing his camera bag and climbing out of the car. Annie sighed, sitting back in her seat for a moment, looking around. Well, they were definitely alone, that was for sure. Steeling herself for whatever was about to happen, Annie pushed her door open and climbed out, allowing Jeff to help her down the embankment and into the woods.

They walked for about fifteen minutes before the dense woods on either side of the... well, Jeff called it a trail, though Annie wouldn't have given it that glamorous a title...either way, the woods eventually did let up, leading to a small, bright, clear space on the banks of a small river. Annie smiled as it came into view.

"This is really beautiful, Jeff." He looked at her behind him and smiled.

"I thought you'd like it. Before he left my dad would take me out here to go fishing," he explained. Annie smiled sadly at him. He wasn't usually forthcoming with information about his father, so she opted not to push it.

"So do you come here a lot?" He shrugged, setting down his camera bag and opening it.

"Sometimes. It's not a bad place to just sit back and relax." He put the strap of his camera over his shoulder and looked around. "So, I was thinking this might make an interesting spot for a photoshoot. The trees offer some really cool shadows, and there's some room to manoeuvre and get different shots." Annie nodded and looked around as he said this. "So what do you think? Want to get started?" She looked at him, eyes wide.

"Right now?" she asked. Jeff nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, there's not much else to see... and I know it's sunny now but they they're calling for showers later..."

"Oh, right, yeah," Annie said. "I guess I just thought there'd be some preamble..." She looked around, hoping some of the trees would be able to tell her what the hell to do now. Jeff crossed over to where she was standing and put his hand on her shoulders.

"Annie," he said in a calming voice. She looked up at him. "You're gonna do great. Just walk around and be yourself, and I'll take pictures when you do something interesting, okay?" Her brow furrowed.

"What exactly constitutes 'interesting' in this situation?" she asked. "Somehow _not_ tripping over tree roots?" Jeff offered a small smile.

"Just be yourself, Annie. That's interesting enough." Annie frowned up at him and looked around once again. Finally, after another look, she shrugged his hands off her shoulders and wandered away.

Jeff chuckled lightly as she walked away from him muttering, "Interesting... be interesting," to herself. He clicked on the camera and looked through the viewfinder as she manoeuvred a little awkwardly before reaching the river. She spun around and looked at him, just as he clicked a picture. "Whoa, okay, we're starting?" she asked. Jeff laughed.

"Yes, we're starting," he said with a chuckle. Annie rolled her eyes, but gave him a little grin over her shoulder, which quickly captured, before she continued onward along the riverbank.

Despite a rocky start, Annie did eventually figure out what Jeff was trying to do. Every so often he would tell her to _stop_ or _do that again_ or _look at me_, _now look left, now look up¸ _etc. After a while, Annie realized that doing a photoshoot like this was pretty easy. She wasn't sure what she expected from Jeff, whether it be barking orders, putting her in weird positions or creepily following her around, but she was relieved to find he was doing none of those things. They were chatting and laughing and playing around, just like always. The only difference was, he occasionally snapped a picture of her.

About half an hour after they began, Jeff took a peek through the pictures he'd taken and then looked around their immediate area once again.

"You want to try something new?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just a model, Mr. Winger, I don't have an opinion," she teased. Jeff laughed lightly and gestured to a tall tree.

"Alright, go behind that tree and just kind of...peer out at me, okay?" he asked. She gave him a little smile and wandered to the location he'd noticed.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" she asked as she peeked out. He directed her a little more so she was perfectly placed before snapping a few shots.

"Okay, now instead of smiling can you just... I don't know... look distant?" She offered him a confused look. "Like you're thinking about something... traumatic, I guess." Annie frowned a little at this. Things had been pretty light thus far. This was taking an interesting turn.

"Traumatic... how? Like parents' divorce traumatic, or rehab traumatic?" she asked. Jeff frowned, remembering for the first time since they'd been there that the beautiful, effervescent woman in front of him was that same woman who had been through so much in her past. He thought about this for a moment.

"Umm... I guess whatever is more meaningful for you," he eventually directed. She nodded slowly, and he watched as her eyes blinked away the last remnants of her smile, before she was finally just looking off into the distance as if she was in search of something—some meaning, some truth that she wasn't able to find. He almost felt wrong taking the picture, but in doing so, he knew he'd captured what he came out here for.

After a few more shots, which thankfully brought them back up to the playful nature with which they started, Annie reached out to him.

"Okay, enough of that. Time for some payback," she said, holding her hand out. Jeff chuckled and shook his head.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hand over the camera, Annie Leibovits, it's my turn," she demanded. Jeff clung to his Canon Rebel.

"Nuh uh, that's not how this works, Christie Brinkley." Annie rolled her eyes.

"Christie Brinkley? God, you _are_ old," she teased. He scoffed.

"Okay, now you're _really_ not getting the camera." She pouted. "Nope, not gonna work," he affirmed. She gave him the Disney eyes. "Seriously? That's not fair."

He relinquished the camera.

Annie giggled as she absconded with the device, pointing it at him and shooting. It came out blurry.

"Okay, how do you use this?" she asked. Jeff chuckled.

"You have to use the manual focus. Just turn the lens until you're focused on what you want a picture of." Annie pointed it back at him and did as he said, finally finding him in the viewfinder.

"Okay, now do something interesting." Jeff rolled his eyes.

"What's interesting?" he asked. She peered away from the viewfinder, fixing him with a teasing glare.

"Oh, I don't know, just _be yourself_ man." He laughed lightly, and she snapped the picture. It was mostly out of focus, but she felt like she'd won anyway.

They stayed another twenty or so minutes, just hanging around and taking pictures of each other, and of both of them. All of the heaviness in the middle there couldn't ruin a perfectly perfect afternoon in the woods between friends who kind of, sort of, _maybe_ liked each other more than that too.

Of course, that only lasted a while longer until the heavens opened up.

"Oh crap!" Jeff exclaimed as a sudden downpour hit them. He raced to conceal his camera in its waterproof bag before turning back to Annie who, like him, was thoroughly soaked.

"Okay, this officially just became awesome," she said, gesturing to the way Jeff's wet t-shirt clung to him. He rolled his eyes.

"Perv."

* * *

_Hope you liked it so far. Let me know!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Community, yo.

* * *

The drive back to town was cold and shivery for both Jeff and Annie, who had spent a good twenty minutes working their way out of the progressively muckier woods to get back to Jeff's car. He had a momentary panic attack when he realized that he had no towels with which to protect his leather interior from the water dripping off each of them, but soon enough got over it when his body became wracked with chills.

"Alright," Jeff said as they re-entered Greendale city limits. "Let's just go to my place. It's closer and I have coffee there," he suggested. Annie nodded in agreement, her teeth still chattering despite the hot air blowing from the car's heater.

When Jeff finally pulled into his apartment's parking lot, he looked outside and frowned. It was still pouring, even harder than it had been when they were in the woods.

"Alright, we're about to get really wet," he said with a frown. Annie raised an eyebrow.

"I think we're past that now, Jeff," she said, gesturing to their drenched clothes hanging limply from their bodies. Jeff peered over at her (thankfully not see-through) dress and nodded.

"Alright, _more_ wet. You ready to make a run for it?" he asked. Annie quirked a small grin.

"Like a race?" she asked with a glint in her eye. "What do I get if I win?" Jeff thought about this a moment.

"Loser has to pay to dry our clothes," he suggested. Annie rolled her eyes.

"Lame." Jeff raised an eyebrow. "But it'll do in a pinch. On your mark, get set, GO!" Annie was out of the car, racing for the entrance before Jeff even had a chance to turn off the engine and grab his camera bag.

When he met her at the door, he was dripping with water, and slightly winded.

"I win," she gloated, despite her teeth once again chattering and the army of goosebumps that had risen up on her exposed arms. Jeff rolled his eyes.

"You cheated," he said, pulling out his keys and working them into the lock. He stopped to look at her. "I've never been more proud of you." Annie giggled, though it was backed with a hint of chill-induced hysteria. Jeff chuckled and finished opening the door, holding it open for her as the two raced inside to get warm.

Once safely inside the apartment, Jeff came to a fairly sudden realization: Annie had no clothes other than the sopping wet ones on her back, so she was probably going to have to wear something of his. Under normal circumstances, Jeff would never dream of letting a girl wear his clothes (they had a tendency to steal them in a sick attempt to get him to see them again), but this was Annie, and she was his friend, and having her standing in his apartment in wet clothes was doing _horrible_ things to his sense of decency, so he relented.

"Alright, let me find you something to wear," Jeff said, mostly to himself as he disappeared into his bedroom. Annie stayed out in the main room looking around. It wasn't a large space, and it was clear that Jeff had never really taken the time to turn it into much of a "home." Nonetheless, there were a few cute little knickknacks around that made her smile, like a framed photo of the study group that Shirley had given him for his birthday, and one of Abed's "Paintball 2010" hoodies hanging over the back of a chair. There was a box of Cheez-itz on top of the fridge, and a half-empty bottle of scotch on the counter.

If placed in a line-up, Annie definitely would have pointed out this apartment as Jeff's.

Speaking of Jeff, he emerged a few moments later dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, holding out a similar set of clothes for her.

"They're going to be huge on you, but at least they're dry," he said, running a towel through his hair. Annie watched a moment, intrigued by Jeff in his natural element. "There's a towel in the bathroom," he said with a hint of a smirk, having caught her staring at him. A little embarrassed, Annie quickly grabbed the clothes he was offering.

"Oh, right. Thanks." She looked around awkwardly for a moment.

"Bathroom's next to the kitchen," Jeff said, pointing in that direction. Annie smiled back at him.

"Right... thanks," she said, wandering away from him. Jeff chuckled lightly when she closed the door and headed back into his room to collect his wet clothes to put in the dryer. As he did so, he thought of the way things had progressed between them that day. He hadn't missed her checking him out in the woods and during the ride back... flustering her completely was doing wonders for his ego.

He shook his head lightly at his own thought process. Things hadn't happened between him and Annie because he'd put a stop to them whenever they started. Recently, though, he'd been thinking that he might be open to changing that, should the opportunity arise again.

Having Annie in his apartment, wearing his clothes seemed like a pretty clear-cut sign to him that his opportunity was rapidly approaching.

Making his way back out into the main room, Jeff dropped his clothes in a pile by the door and headed into the kitchen to make some coffee to take away the last remnants of their chills. Just as he clicked for it to brew, the bathroom door opened and Annie came out with her clothes, dropping them on top of Jeff's pile. She looked like she was drowning inside of his massive clothes, the shirt falling most of the way to her knees and her hands holding up the sweat pants, lest they fall down completely. Jeff chuckled.

"You look like you shrunk in the wash," he teased. She rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault you're a giant," she shot back. He grinned.

"You also have mascara running down your face," he noted. "I take it you didn't look in the mirror when you were in the bathroom." Annie's face flushed slightly.

"I was in a bit of a rush to get out of my wet clothes." Jeff offered her a small smile before she turned on her heel and headed straight back into the bathroom. He chuckled when she closed the door with a bit more force than necessary. With a smile he picked up their pile of wet clothes and headed out to the laundry room to dry them up. Annie was probably eager to get back into her own clothes after being relegated to something eighteen sizes too big for her.

When he got back into his apartment, he spotted Annie sitting on a small bench by the window. She'd shucked the pants, opting to just wear the dress-length shirt (a fashion choice that Jeff had no problem with whatsoever).

What struck him though, as she looked out at the pouring rain beating down on the window, was how utterly beautiful she looked. Her hair was wet and a little wild in the way it slicked over her head and shoulders, and her face was totally devoid of any makeup. Combined with the dim light cast into the space by the window and she almost looked...tragic...but in a good way. A way that made Jeff realize that he'd completely missed the point when he was taking pictures of her that afternoon.

Annie watched him curiously as he pulled his camera out of the bag and flicked off the lamp, casting the room into darkness save for the light of the window.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He wandered over to her side and turned the camera on.

"Mind if I take a few more?" She frowned.

"Jeff, I look like crap," she moaned. "I have no makeup on, I'm wearing _your shirt_, my hairs a mess..."

"You look perfect," he interrupted. She bit her lip, watching him sceptically. "You do," he insisted.

"Fine," she sighed. "But if I look like death those photos you have to promise not to use them," she warned. Jeff offered a small smile.

"I promise," he said with a little wink. She eyed him sceptically for another moment before finally relenting.

"Alright. Let's get this over with," she grumbled. She shook her head a little, before peering up at Jeff with a small smile.

"No, don't smile." She offered a pout. "No, don't do that either," he said. She rolled her eyes before twirling the damp ends of her hair around a finger and looking up at him with a bit of a coquettish grin. "Nope," Jeff said. She sighed deeply and dropped her hand.

"Well what do you want me to do?" she exclaimed. Jeff bit the inside of his cheek, thinking about this. She'd looked so perfect just as she was when he walked in... how could he describe that look to her?

"Just... do nothing. Lean into the window, and look at the lens, and do nothing." Annie sighed, trying to figure out exactly what he meant by that. She felt such a weird mix of emotions, sitting here in front of him wearing just his t-shirt as he watched her like this. It was like he was looking right through her, and the intensity of his gaze was a little unnerving, but also endearing. She'd never seen Jeff so passionate about something as he seemed to be about this, and being a part of it made her feel kind of...special.

With that thought, she rested her head against the cool pane of glass and peered up at the lens, her face relaxed. She wondered if her eyes showed the depth of affection she held for him, or if they betrayed her anxiety. She wondered what he thought as he watched her through his lens, if he saw her or just the picture.

She saw his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed, the room heavy with the quiet, steady beating of rain against the window, and then filled with the almost imperceptible 'click' of a photo being taken in the barely lit room.

Jeff slowly lowered the camera, his gaze unreadable.

"That was it," he said, his voice low. Annie watched him as he set the camera down gently on the kitchen counter and returned to her. She shifted over on the bench where she sat, making room for him to join her.

The rain battered against the window behind them as they sat in silence for a long moment. Annie wasn't sure how, but something had changed over the past few moments. This wasn't a game anymore, she realized. This was something more.

She peered up at Jeff, finding him staring down at where her hand rested on the seat between them. She dropped her gaze to his own hand a few inches away and moved to hold it. Jeff's eyes shot up to hers as she did so.

"What's so special about that picture?" she asked quietly. Jeff watched her just as intently as he thought about this.

"It..." he let his thought drop away and turned his hand over beneath hers, threading their fingers together. There was another moment of silence. "It was beautiful," he eventual said, the rasp in his voice sending a shiver through Annie's no-longer freezing body. She swallowed hard and leaned over to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for asking me to do this," she said quietly. Jeff unthreaded their fingers and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tighter against him.

Annie felt his lips on top of her head, and she knew that in the past five minutes, everything had changed.

* * *

Late that night, long after Jeff had taken Annie home, he pushed his memory card into his computer and began going through the photos he'd taken with Annie that afternoon.

After taking that picture in the darkness of his apartment, the feeling between them had become something... different. He wasn't sure what it meant that every time she looked at him he felt electrified, or that every time she touched him he wanted to grab on and never let go. He'd known for a long time that he wanted Annie, that he was enamoured with her, but it had never been so...potent as it was in those few hours.

She'd stayed a while. They drank coffee and talked and joked while waiting for their clothes to dry... but despite the normalcy of the whole scene, it was clear to Jeff, and he assumed clear to Annie too that there had been a shift. It was like they were finally honest with each other, even though no words had been spoken about how they felt, or what this all meant for them.

Of course, that's just how Jeff perceived it. He knew Annie was not one for subtle glances, and he knew that he would eventually just have to man-up and tell her how he felt. That morning he had in no way been ready to do that. Tonight, he thought maybe he was.

As the photos appeared on his computer screen before him, he skipped immediately to the end and clicked to open the last photo he'd taken of her. He was struck again by her utter beauty, but more-so by the clarity of her eyes. She looked so open, so vulnerable in the diffused light of a late-afternoon shower, wearing his white t-shirt and nothing else. Her face, devoid of makeup was so clear and unmarred, so free...

And suddenly he realized that he had it. The story that Professor Lewis was looking for: the connection between photos, the honesty...it was all right there on his computer screen, reflected in the clarity of the blue eyes staring back at him.

* * *

"Alright," said Professor Lewis. "I've graded your final portfolios. Very well done, on the whole. I can really see great improvement in your work over the term, which is wonderful."

Jeff sat in the back of the class, his knee bouncing rapidly under his desk. He'd never in his life been this nervous about a grade—but this was so much more than a grade. This was _Annie_—or, more specifically, this was him and Annie. This _mattered._

Two weeks had passed since the photoshoot, and the change that had occurred between Jeff and Annie on that day was still palpable between them. Jeff didn't bother pretending anymore that there wasn't something between them. He walked a little closer, he looked a little longer and he refused to go back to the place where they were just friends and nothing more.

However, despite all of that remarkable internal progress, Jeff still had one small problem: he had no sweet clue how to relay those feelings to Annie. Sure, he could sit her down and lay his feelings all out there for her, but that wasn't really his style, and he tended to fumble over words when they mattered the most. He could write it in a text message, but that seemed like the coward's way out after keeping her on the line for nearly four years.

Whatever it was, Jeff knew he had to do it soon. The school year was rapidly coming to an end, and with it would come graduation. If there was one thing he refused to do, it was leave Greendale without telling Annie he wanted her. He hadn't realized until the day of the photoshoot that this was a goal in his life, but after sitting on that bench with her and holding her hand, there was little else he could think of. It was time. He knew that now.

He was pulled from his rambling thoughts by his portfolio landing on the table in front of him.

"Well done, Mr. Winger," said Professor Lewis with a smile. "This is by far your best work." Jeff smiled up at her before looking at the small portfolio in his hands. Inside were four pictures of Annie that, he believed, actually told her story.

The first photo was the one he'd taken of her standing behind the tree, sadness evident in her eyes as she looked off into the distance. He opened to that page and smiled at the comment beneath the photo from Professor Lewis: "_Beautiful girl, beautiful photo. There's a true depth of emotion here. I'm interested to see where this leads."_

He flipped to the second photo. It showed Annie sitting along the river bank peering down into the water as she poked at a lily pad with a twig.

The comment read: "_Such a lovely sadness here. Loneliness. It makes sense following the last picture."_

The third picture was the second one he took of Annie, when she'd peeked at him over her shoulder and he made her laugh.

"_Beautiful. There's a hesitance in her eyes that belies the smile on her lips, and yet the smile holds such radiance. It's like her happiness is trying to fight through the sadness, and it's very nearly winning."_

Jeff bit his lip nervously as he turned to the final page. It was the last picture he took of Annie, in the darkness of his apartment with only the rainclouds for light. He was once again stunned by the look in her eyes as she peered out at him from the page. He knew when he took it that this photo was special, and he remembered why every time he looked at it.

With a deep breath, he skipped down to the comment.

"_The true strength of a person is exemplified by their ability to be vulnerable. Your muse is a beautiful representation of this, finding the truth within her and making it available to you as a photographer. The vulnerability of this photo, from the staging, the clothes, the wet hair and the clear skin without makeup as a veil is stirring. This is a very special girl."_

Jeff smiled when he read the final comment. Momentarily, he peeked at the back where she had written, _"Beautiful work, Mr. Winger. A+."_ He didn't linger there, though, instead flipping back to the last page, to the beautiful image of Annie and the comment that perfectly summarized everything he'd been trying to say to her ever since he first saw her sitting there in his apartment looking out the rain-splashed window.

Finally, he knew how to tell Annie how he felt.

* * *

_Hope you liked it. Let me know!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Community, yo.

* * *

**A Thousand Words**

Jeff tittered around his apartment making final preparations for his evening. Shortly after his photography class had ended, he asked Annie to join him for dinner to celebrate his first A+ in...well... ever. She, naturally, was more than happy to do so.

As he wandered between the kitchen and tidying up the rest of the place, he took a moment consider what exactly he was getting himself into with Annie this evening. He was committed to finally owning up to his feelings for her, that much he was sure of. Their time at Greendale was nearly through, and he'd wasted so much time already, choosing to worry about irrelevant things like age differences and other people's opinions as opposed to what they both clearly wanted.

What he was unsure about, and continued to battle with, was the route he'd chosen to take to convince her that he was ready to settle down and commit to her. He'd gone through a lot of different options as he considered this moment. He thought about trying to be suave and smooth and show her just how sexy and cool he could be when he set his mind to it, but he had a hunch that Annie would be able to see right through it. He thought about just being ultra-straight forward and to the point, but after waiting so long, Annie deserved more effort than that. She deserved flourish, and honesty, and maybe an explanation or two as to why it took him so long to actually make his move.

And so that's what he was going to do. He was going to sit her down and explain himself, as difficult as that might be. He was going to tell her things that he'd never told anyone before; things he didn't like to think about because, frankly, they sucked.

But Annie was worth it. She was worth wading through the brackish water and muck of his upbringing. She was worth pushing down his nerves and worthless inhibitions and just getting at the heart of the issues. She was worth, as Jeff was quickly coming to realize, a whole lot more than he'd previously thought.

Jeff jumped when his oven buzzed, letting him know that the chicken was finished cooking. He straightened the line of liquor bottles on his counter as he made his way back into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner.

Just as he finished up setting the table, a knock came at his door. He stopped a few feet away to take a deep breath before forging onward.

"Hey," he greeted Annie brightly as he pulled the door open. He noticed her struggling a little with a dish in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. "Here, let me take those," he offered as he ushered her inside. She smiled up at him gratefully and relinquished the items before slipping her raincoat off her shoulders. It was the first time he realized that her hair was damp and she had small rivulets of water dripping down her face.

"It started raining just as I pulled up," Annie said, unzipping her raincoat. "At least I was prepared this time!" Jeff chuckled and wandered away from her to set the dish and wine down on the dining room table. "It smells amazing in here!" she called from the entryway.

"It's lemon chicken, with roasted potatoes, and something even better for dessert," Jeff boasted, returning to the main room. Annie raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"I feel so spoiled," she said with a grin. "All I brought was a salad." Jeff chuckled a gestured for her to head past him into the small dining nook next to the kitchen. She smiled when she saw the table in full, with a tall candle at the centre and champagne flutes at each place setting. "Man, when you celebrate a grade, you go all out."

"Yeah, well, some things are worth the effort," he said. She didn't miss the way he watched her as he said this, before pulling out her chair. "Have a seat. I'll get us some champagne." She smiled a little wider than she meant to as she slid into the proffered chair, but the whole scene was just so unreal. Jeff was being a gentleman... more than a gentleman, he was being kind of... perfect. She shook that thought away as he disappeared a moment into the kitchen, returning to the dining room with a bottle in hand.

"Ready?" he asked, thumbing the cork. She grinned and nodded, laughing happily as he pushed on the small piece of wood and sent it flying into the wall with a _pop_. Jeff filled up their glasses before slipping into his own seat across from her, lifting his glass up. "To you," he said quietly. Her brow furrowed.

"To me? I thought we were here to celebrate _your_ grade." Jeff shrugged.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he said simply. She hesitated another moment and he rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Alright, fine. To us," he amended. Annie's eyes popped even wider at this, but she recovered quickly, catching his eye with a smile and clinking their glasses together.

* * *

Dinner went by with comfortable conversation. Jeff idly thought that if this was a date (which it was, in his mind), it was just about the best date he'd ever been on. His best friend sat across from him, allowing them to skip the perfunctory questions about jobs and hobbies and just move on to the good stuff: conversation about their mutual friends, things they both loved to do, casual debate over whether the final book in the _Hunger Games_ series was a complete disaster or just ultra realistic. Jeff felt that if he could spend every night like this, just sharing his time with this woman, that he could justify giving up his playboy lifestyle for it.

Annie groaned lightly as she fell back onto the couch, carefully balancing her wine glass in one hand and slinging the other over her stomach.

"Ugh, I've never eaten that much food in my life," she complained. Jeff chuckled as he slipped down next to her, turning toward her with one knee on the couch and his other foot on the floor. He sipped his wine before responding.

"I told you to stop after your third piece of cheesecake," he reminded. She levelled him with a glare.

"_Homemade_ cheesecake. Homemade cheesecake that could rival Shirley's homemade cheesecake," she returned. "I mean, good God, you don't stop eating homemade cheesecake just because you're full. You keep eating until you're literally ready to explode. It's in the Constitution." Jeff laughed sharply at this.

"As a former lawyer, I can say with absolute confidence that _eating cheesecake until you explode_ is not in the Constitution." She nodded emphatically.

"Uh, yes it is, former lawyer. It's the pursuit of happiness," she argued. Jeff laughed at this.

"That's the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution," he corrected. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, I can't be expected to know these things when I have cheesecake brain." He smiled at her, knowing his affection was peeking through and not bothering to hide it. She watched him a moment, her eyes soft. She dropped her head sideways to rest it against the back of the couch and smiled at him.

"This was one heck of a celebratory dinner," she said lightly. She held her glass out to him. "Compliments to the chef." Jeff grinned and clinked his glass with hers before taking a sip, and then setting his on the table. He returned to watching her for a moment, a silence passing between them that was not entirely settled. Annie noticed as his hands fiddled together in his lap.

After a few more moments, of this, she finally spoke up.

"What's up, Jeff?" she asked, her whispered tone startling Jeff out of his thought process. He took a deep, steadying breath before shifting a little in his seat.

"How much have I told you about my father?" he abruptly asked. Annie blinked a few times, obviously caught off guard by the question.

"Umm... not much?" Her voice lilted upward at the end, questioningly. Jeff nodded and peered down at his hands in his lap as he forged onward.

"Yeah, I don't talk about it a lot," he said quietly. "Mainly because I don't want anyone to know." He glanced up at her briefly, catching her eye, before averting his gaze once again. "My dad was a jerk. You know that, right?"

"I think we all know that much," she confirmed. He offered a wry chuckle before continuing.

"Well, he was. And he was kind of... mean to me, you know?" She nodded. He looked past her as he went on. "He used to get so mad... _so,_ so mad. He'd come home and before he was even in the door he was already yelling at me and my mom and banging on things. We could hear him coming." He stopped a moment, trying to figure out how to say what he was trying to say. Thankfully, Annie granted him a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"I was just a kid, you know," he eventually said. "I was only five when he left... it's not like I had a long time to get to know him or... get attached. And if there was any attachment, he went out of his way to kill it." Jeff sighed deeply, finally looking in Annie's direction, but not really at her. "He just... fuck, I don't know. It was like he didn't want to me _feel_ anything. Like he knew he was being a jerk and didn't want me to be bothered by it... so whenever I cried, or showed any signs of actual, genuine human emotion, he would fall all over himself trying to make me stop—be that by yelling at me, or throwing me into walls, or whipping me with his belt... he just didn't want me to feel. And he'd always cover it by telling my mom that he was teaching me to be a _man_, and that _real men don't cry_, but I always knew that was horseshit, and I think she did too. It was as if he wanted me to feel _nothing_, so that when he finally left, he wouldn't have to feel bad about hurting my feelings."

"Jeff," Annie said quietly. He caught her eye, finally, a deep frown set on his lips.

"The really crappy thing, Annie," he said quietly. "The thing that sucks the most, is that it kind of worked. I mean, yeah, it hurt when he left, but how could it possibly hurt that bad when he'd worked so hard to beat the feelings out of me?

"And so now... now when I'm supposed to be this normal, fully functioning adult, I'm fucking terrified to show any of those things that he always taught me were wrong for men to feel. It's like my entire understanding of what it is to be a _man_ is tied up in this idea that _men don't cry_ or _men aren't pussies_, or any of the other crappy things he used to say to me in between shoves and punches."

Jeff let his sentence drift away, feeling weirdly spent after getting that far... and he was only halfway there. He had seriously underestimated how hard this would be.

Annie watched him for a moment, sadness evident in her eyes as she sat back in her seat, toying with the nearly empty wine glass in her hand.

"Jeff?" she asked quietly after a moment. Jeff peered up at her. "Not that I mind... but why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I want you to know," he said simply. He shifted a little on the couch, facing her more fully. "Because if I'm distant with you, or hard to get a read on, it's not because I don't care about you or because you don't mean something to me, because you do, and it sucks that I don't know how to show that to you."

"What brought this on?" she asked. Jeff carefully reached out toward her, slipping the glass from her hand and placing it next to his on the table before returning. He took her hands in his and leaned in closer.

"Annie, I've never wanted anyone to know these things before. I've never wanted to tell this story because I've never met anyone who made me feel like I could be this way with them."

"Be what way?" she asked.

"Vulnerable," he said quietly. "Because the world says that it's a weakness, and until recently, that's what I thought too."

"It's not a weakness," she said, her voice barely a breath in the room.

"I know that now," Jeff admitted. "And you taught me that, by showing me that it can be a strength... a virtue." Annie's brow furrowed.

"How did I do that?" Jeff sat still a moment, before slipping his hands from hers and lifting himself off the couch. Annie watched as he disappeared into his bedroom, emerging a moment later with a small booklet in his hands. He flipped to the last page before settling back down onto the couch and handing it to her

"With this," he said quietly. Annie looked down at the picture on the paper, the one he'd taken of her, soaked and cold in his dim, rain-lit apartment. She looked up at him, questioningly. "You let me in, Annie," he said quietly. "You let me in, in a way no one has before. I don't know how to explain to you what it felt like the first time I saw this photo... I just knew that was it. That's what I was looking for, the emotion I was trying to capture without even realizing it."

Annie looked at the picture, her bottom lip stuck between her teeth. Jeff watched as she read the comment beneath the photo from Professor Lewis: _The true strength of a person is exemplified by their ability to be vulnerable._

"She's right, you know," he said after a moment. Annie's looked back up at him.

"Right about what?"

"That it takes a strong person to be vulnerable. You know that, I think you always have. But I... I let my dad convince me that being vulnerable is something that you should avoid at all costs, or you'll get hurt." Annie frowned as he said this. "And maybe I will get hurt," he allowed. "Maybe all of this openness and vulnerability is just a set up for more heartache, but what I realize when I look at this picture of you is that maybe it's worth it. Maybe it takes pain to recognize the true value of what you have, and why it's worth fighting for."

"And what are you fighting for, Jeff?" she asked suddenly. He bit the inside of his cheek as she continued. "This is all really sweet, but all of the vulnerability in the world means nothing if it doesn't come with honesty. What do you want, Jeff? Honestly."

"I want you," he said simply. Annie blinked up at him, her brow creasing.

"And you figured that out because of a photo?"

"Honestly, Annie, I figured it out the moment I walked into my apartment and saw you sitting there wearing nothing but my t-shirt," he said quietly. He grimaced at that. "That didn't come out right..."

"It's okay, I think I get what you're trying to say," Annie cut him off, a small laugh in her voice. Jeff smiled lightly.

"You're the best, Annie," he said quietly. "I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you that." She watched him a moment, in her eyes a mixture of sadness for his story, and awe that this is where events had led. Jeff watched her as she closed the portfolio and set it down on the table next to their wine glasses, careful not to bump them, before returning back to where he was.

"So what now?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper in the room. Jeff offered a small, but genuine smile and reached out one hand to palm her cheek. She sunk into his warmth and sighed, her eyes heavy as she watched him.

"I'd really like to kiss you," he admitted. She quirked a small grin.

"I might be okay with that," she allowed. Jeff chuckled lightly, his thumb making small swipes against her cheekbone as he began to lean in. "Wait, wait, wait!" Annie said, abruptly jumping up from the couch so quickly that it made Jeff's head spin as she raced toward the door where she'd left her purse.

"What's wrong?" he asked over his shoulder, concern evident in his voice. She dug around a moment before emerging with something and returning to the couch. He raised an eyebrow as he saw what she held in her hands. She settled into her seat and clicked on the small device, pointing it at him. "What are you doing?" he asked, laughter in his voice.

"Mind if I take a picture?" she asked, a smirk on her lips. Jeff laughed lightly.

"Annie..."

"Come on," she encouraged. He rolled his eyes, but offered a small smile for her anyway.

"No, don't smile," she directed. He dropped the smile, offered a little bit of a smoulder (that Annie _totally_ did_ not_ shiver at). "Nope, not that either." He sighed, his lips tingling in anticipation, his irritation at the camera between them growing.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" he asked. She peeked out from behind her small point-and-shoot, as if thinking deeply about what direction to take.

"Just do nothing," she said. "Just look at the lens, and do nothing." Jeff fought off a smile at his own words being thrown back at him. He took a deep breath and sunk into the moment, his face relaxing as he watched her with a gaze that he hoped showed the depth of affection he held for her.

Then, he was nearly blinded by the flash.

"Gah!" he cried out, blinking in a desperate effort to remove the spots of purple and green before his eyes.

"Sorry!" Annie exclaimed, setting down the camera, her hands going to his face. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn't know it was going to flash!" Jeff continued to blink, irritated by the giant blotch blocking out the centre of her face in the dimly lit room. He glared at her as best he could when she snorted a small laugh.

"You think this is funny?" he asked. She burst then, laughing loudly, falling back on the couch with her hands over her face. Jeff finally managed to clear his eyes of the remnants of the flash, and couldn't help his own laughter as he took in the sight of Annie laying before him, her whole body shaking with the force of her laughter. "Annie," he said, through his chuckles, leaning over her slightly to pull her hands away from her face. She peered up at him, her smile radiant as she continued to giggle.

"I ruined the moment, didn't I?" she asked, the smile on her lips belying her apologetic tone. Jeff shook his head, unable to stop the small spurts of laughter.

"You didn't ruin it," he assured her, leaning in a little closer. Her giggles subsided finally, and she reached up to rest her palm against his cheek as he dropped down to kiss her lightly. It only lasted a second before he pulled slightly away, taking her hand from his cheek and threading their fingers together. He met her gaze then. "You made it better," he said quietly. He shook his head, in slight disbelief. "No matter what it is, you always make things better."

Jeff hovered above her for a moment, watching her as she peered up at him. It was hard to believe that just five minutes two weeks earlier had set all of this in motion—but the proof was right there before him. He smiled gently as he manoeuvred them on the couch so they were each laying on their sides, bodies pressed long and lean against each other as hands rested on hips and arms in gentle, but insistent grasps.

"I really want you to kiss me," Annie whispered, her voice barely a breath and nearly drowned out by the now steady beating of rain against the window pane.

"Wait," he teased in a whisper. Annie giggled lightly and Jeff grinned, quickly closing the gap. He relaxed into it as their lips slid against each other's in long, languid kisses that in no way made up for the four years of waiting; but he'd have time to worry about that later. For now there were no over-stuffed tummies, or pictures to be taken, or parental mistakes to discuss. For now there was just this.

This was enough.

**End**

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_I really loved this prompt, so thanks again to the lovely leap_of_faith81 for suggesting it. I hope you all liked it!_


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